March 15, 1945 found six planes of the 500th Bomb Squadron, 345th Bomb Group crossing the sea from their base at San Marcelino, Luzon to the China coast. Their mission was to conduct a shipping search from Chelang Point to the Hong Kong area.
Near the end of the sweep, a FOX TARE CHARLIE (freighter transport) or SUGAR BAKER (stack aft freighter) was found near shore and was attacked by the flight lead. One of his 500 pound bombs detonated squarely on the deck of the freighter. The BOLD VENTURE was following close behind and was caught in the explosion as the freighter blew up.
The right engine of the Bold Venture was feathered as it emerged from the smoke, heading toward the shore. Apparently unable to pull up or complete a turn to the right, the plane crashed into a low hill and exploded.
A gallery of excellent pictures of the crash and crash site can be found on boldventureb25.com. Several of those images were used to refine my location of this crash site and to produce the 3D scene at the top of this post. An excellent collection of aerial photography of the Pak Long area can be found on the website of the Lands Department, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. My thanks to them for producing and maintaining such an extensive set of high resolution aerial photography.
Lost in the crash of B-25 #43-36171 were:
- 2Lt Robert W. Jensen, pilot
- 2Lt Orville L. Garrison, copilot
- Sgt Henry M. Worley, engineer
- Cpl Frank M. Tubb, radio operator
- Sgt Robert H. Waggy
The remains of the crew were recovered after the war and reinterred in several national cemeteries.